


Schoolmate Observation Diary

by snowharasho



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hope, Ishimaru spends time with his friends!, Multi, happiness, not actually romantic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-07-13 13:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16019291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowharasho/pseuds/snowharasho
Summary: Ishimaru realises that spending time with others can be fun.A bunch of short stories about Ishimaru hanging out with different people. No despair in this world, only hope and the best for Ishimaru.





	1. Naegi-kun’s Fashion Expansion

**Author's Note:**

> (This is written by my sister who is too weak to create her own account. :/ Nonetheless please enjoy.) 
> 
> I love Ishimaru and I want him to have lots of friends. Starting with Naegi because their FTEs and school mode ending are adorable. 
> 
> Spoilers: the next chapter will feature the other brown-haired ahoge boy. Anyway, I hope you like this short story?!
> 
> (After seeing his friend take an interest in his hoodie, Naegi invites Ishimaru to go clothes-shopping.)

“Naegi-kun! You’re late by about 7 minutes!” Unsurprisingly, that was Ishimaru’s first greeting to Naegi after he made a mad dash to catch his bus, trip and fall flat on his face as it sped off right before his eyes, then spent a few minutes in the toilet washing off the dirt after reaching the mall, and finally sprinted to meet his friend. The fact that he was only 7 minutes late was a miracle. 

The fact that he found himself getting used to Ishimaru’s strictness and obsession over punctuality and rules in just a few weeks was equally amazing, for Naegi simply laughed it off. He had a mission today, and he would accomplish it. 

As he was placating Ishimaru by telling him about his misadventures, Naegi observed that Ishimaru was wearing his usual school uniform, blazer and all, even though it was a Sunday and they were at one of the most popular malls near the school. This was exactly why Naegi had brought him here today - his friend really needed a new wardrobe that was not just ten sets of his uniform. It was no easy task convincing Ishimaru that he should, no, he had to get something for casual wear - Ishimaru was stubborn and dead-set on not spending money or time on ‘useless’ things - but somehow he successfully persuaded him after showing him some of his own clothes, namely, his hoodie of all things. Naegi hadn’t pegged him as a hoodie person, and wondered if Ishimaru took a liking to it because of its practical uses. Regardless, Ishimaru finally relented and gave Naegi a chance to take him clothes shopping, and Naegi swore to get at least a full new outfit for Ishimaru today.

“Well then, shall we go look for clothes?” 

Ishimaru nodded, and the two went into a few stores to browse. Deciding to take the lead, Naegi picked out a simple blouse from the rack and showed it to Ishimaru.

“What about this one?” He asked. It was similar to the school blouse, so he figured Ishimaru might be more accepting of it. He had thought this out! Or so he thought, because Ishimaru simply raised his eyebrows and gave him a confused expression.

“Why?”

“W-what do you mean, ‘why’?” Naegi sputtered, dumbfounded.

“Well… It looks just like the school blouse, doesn’t it? I already have ten of those.” He reminded, and Naegi tried to defend his choice before indignantly putting it back. 

“Oh! What about this one! It’s a different colour.” He picked out a light blue one from the rack. Ishimaru studied it carefully.

“But that colour goes against the school regulations?”

“You’re not wearing this to school!” Naegi exclaimed, flustered. This was going to be more difficult than he expected. “This is just, something you wear when you hang out with friends. Like today!”

“But I don’t hang out with friends,” Ishimaru replied as-a-matter-of-factly, and Naegi felt a pang of guilt strike his heart. Ouch. 

“I’m sure you will. We’re hanging out right now! A-anyway, you should try it on!” 

Pushing Ishimaru into the changing room despite his protests, Naegi thought that maybe he should reduce his expectations for this shopping trip. Maybe he should just aim for one new shirt for Ishimaru, instead of a full outfit. 

“Naegi-kun, do I just change into the clothes? Isn’t that a bit unhygienic?” Came Ishimaru’s voice from inside the cubicle.

“No, they’ll clean it afterwards.” 

“I see...” 

After a few seconds of shuffling while Naegi prayed that his friend would like the blouse, Ishimaru opened the door. Naegi was ready to shout, “It looks great on you!” before stopping himself, for he realised that Ishimaru had worn his blazer over the blouse as if it were his uniform. Stunned silent, Naegi struggled to find something to say. 

“Does it look bad? I don’t think I look very different.”

“No, it’s just, the blazer kind of… covers the shirt. But you look good!”

Ishimaru looked somewhat unconvinced. “I don’t get it at all… I don’t see why I need to get a new shirt.” After all, he already had more than enough to last him a whole week, and had plenty of spares for emergencies.

Realising that he might have been pushing Ishimaru a bit too much, Naegi felt a tinge of regret. At the same time, he had come too far to give up, and he really, really wanted his friend to get something to remember this day. No, he couldn’t give up! There’s still hope that Ishimaru might find that one thing that he likes! 

Feeling a newfound sense of resolve, Naegi asked, “then, why don’t you pick out something for yourself?”

“But…”

“No buts! You gotta pick just one, okay?”

“Nnngh…” Ishimaru raised his fist to his chin and furrowed his brows in concentration. Just one? Did he really have to? He glanced at Naegi, who was looking at him in anticipation. Truthfully, he did feel guilty that Naegi invited him to try out clothes, and yet here he was rejecting everything without even giving it a chance. But… he didn’t need more blouses! Or shirts, or pants, or-

Immediately, his eyes widened. How could he have forgotten? Perhaps it was because Naegi wasn’t wearing it today, but he had forgotten that article of clothing that managed to pique his interest. Smiling, he exclaimed, “Then, I would like a hoodie!” Perfect! Now his classmate would be satisfied, and he could have a new jacket that would protect him from the rain, while feeling soft and comfortable. 

Of course, Naegi had been so preoccupied on finding a shirt and pants that he had forgotten about why Ishimaru agreed to come in the first place. Grinning along with his friend’s enthusiasm, he pulled him towards his favourite brand of hoodies, and watched as Ishimaru gawked and touched all the different types of hoodies.

“Naegi-kun! This one- this one doesn’t have a hood!” Ishimaru gasped. 

Naegi chuckled, “yeah. That’s not a hoodie,” as he watched his friend, dare he say, enjoy himself, feeling the different fabrics and comparing pocket sizes to determine which was the most effective one. “Which one do you like?”

“This one is quite nice! But it doesn’t have the design on the back like yours does.” Ishimaru replied, meticulously checking the back of every hood. Naegi found it strangely cute that Ishimaru’s taste in clothes was surprisingly not fitting his strict dress codes.

“I think some of these do. Maybe the ones over here?” Naegi pointed out another section of hoodies with the brand’s logo stylishly emblazoned onto the back of the hoods. Ishimaru’s eyes seemed to sparkle as he went to check them out. 

“They do!” Ishimaru exclaimed triumphantly. “They come in two colours! Hmm. Which one should I get?” He turned to his more fashionable companion for advice as he held up the two hoodies - one was light green and the other light blue. 

“Wow, it does look good,” Naegi murmured. “I like the green one, but that’s just me.”

Satisfied with his, or rather, Naegi’s choice, Ishimaru tried on the hoodie. It was comfortable, soft, the hood fits, and most importantly, he could fit his wallet into the pockets! Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea! The hoodie was a fresh look for Ishimaru, and was a good first step at making him appear more approachable. 

Naegi did a mini fist pump at his success. The hoodie… looked really nice. Well, he may be here to help Ishimaru expand his wardrobe, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get something for himself too! After much contemplation, he tried on the matching blue hoodie.

“Look, we match!” Naegi chuckled. “It suits you, by the way.”

“Thank you! I think I’m getting the hang of this ‘fashion’ thing!” Ishimaru cheerily replied. “You look… the same as always, Naegi-kun!” 

“T-thanks!” Naegi murmured softly. Ishimaru was blunt as always, but somehow he didn’t feel too offended. “Did you have fun?”

Ishimaru pondered over the question. Did he have fun? He didn’t really know what constituted as ‘fun’, but he did like the hoodie, and spending some time away from his studies with a… friend… felt quite nice. “I think I did.” He answered proudly. 

“Then, next week, do you want to hang out again?” 

“I’ll think about it!” 

Naegi rejoiced internally as they went to pay for their hoodies, with Ishimaru seeming slightly reluctant to take it off. All in all, he might not have accomplished his goal of getting a full outfit for Ishimaru, but he considered his mission to be an overall resounding success. Plus, he got a sweet new hoodie out of it too!


	2. Chapter 2: Hinata-senpai’s Mini Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata decides to take a short trip to the beach during the holidays, persuading his study partner to come along as well.

Summer vacation. A time where students can catch up on all the sleep they had missed over the gruelling semester, hang out with friends and not have to look at their textbooks, at least until the last week where they rush to finish their summer homework. It was the most fun and relaxing time of a student’s life and one that all students look forward to, or rather, one that most students should. 

Hinata glanced over at his study partner who was deeply engrossed with making a set of notes for his next semester’s classes. He had agreed to meet up with him so that he could try and finish his homework early in the summer and spend the rest of the vacation as freely and without worries as he’d like, but he was slightly concerned that his friend did not seem to have any other plans for the summer besides, well, studying. He knew that school was basically Ishimaru’s entire life, but he had not expected it to be this bad. 

Hinata let out a small sigh as he looked at the stack of assignments he had to complete during the holidays. He was beginning to feel quite burnt out, partially due to the Reserve Course workload being unfairly quadrupled compared to the Main Course, and partially because Nanami’s class was going on a 2 week-long vacation to Jabberwock Island (sponsored by the school) while he was stuck here in Tokyo. 

Glancing over at Ishimaru, who eyes were still glued to his notes, Hinata thought about how much fun his Main Course friends would be having in a foreign, new and exciting land, while Hinata could only dream of being able to travel to, like, Kyoto. It’s not fair. He wanted to go to the beach too! He wanted to have a barbeque, play beach volleyball, build sandcastles and go swimming with friends… Why was life so unfair?

And that’s when it hit him - he can do all of those things! Sure, Tokyo’s beaches weren’t really worthy of being called a beach, but it was better than nothing! Plus, he was losing concentration anyway and a nice break would do the trick. He could just come back to his work the next day. Not only that, he could give Ishimaru a nice, well-deserved escape from his textbooks for once. Grinning at his new plans for the day, Hinata tapped his friend on the shoulder to get his attention.

“Hmm?” 

“Ishimaru, should we take a break? I don’t think I can study any more…” 

Ishimaru’s eyes widened in shock as Hinata smiled sheepishly. After a moment of consideration, Ishimaru relented. “Oh. Um, sure. Breaks are important for refreshing your mind!” Hinata saw that Ishimaru was trying his best to be less hard on himself and it made him somewhat relieved. 

“Yeah! So let’s go to the beach!”

“Pardon?” 

“It’s summer, so it’s the perfect time! We could swim so it’ll be a good workout too!” 

“But that would take too long! What about our study session?”

“We can continue tomorrow. It’s summer vacation, so we have to enjoy ourselves!” Hinata persisted, trying to come up with more and more reasons why they should go. Ishimaru struggled to protest, but ended up getting dragged along on the promise that they would study twice as hard the next day. The two of them hopped onto the train until they reached a small beach on the outskirts of the city, Hinata falling asleep on the train until he was jostled awake by a concerned Ishimaru. Despite frowning at Hinata’s negligence that could have caused him to miss their stop, Ishimaru had a hint of an excited expression on his face, and Hinata took it upon himself to make this a trip to remember for the both of them.

They made their way to the beach, which Hinata soon realised was more of a tiny coast than a vast, sandy beach. Despite that, there were a few people spending time on the ‘beach’, laying on picnic mats and going swimming. Well, the size may be disappointing but it was better than nothing. Hinata peered over at Ishimaru, who was taking in the sights of the ‘beach’ and inhaling the sea salt in the air.

Out of curiosity, Hinata asked, “Ishimaru, have you been to a beach before?” 

“No! This is my first time! It looks a little different from the photos, though.” Ishimaru replied enthusiastically, and Hinata chuckled slightly. 

“Yeah.” Hinata looked down at the sand, which was really more like gravel. “We should take off our shoes.”

The two of them took of their shoes and jackets and set them neatly aside at the corner of the beach. Hinata supported Ishimaru as he took his first steps barefooted onto the gravel. Ishimaru frowned at the unpleasant texture as Hinata guided him to the shore.

“Look!” His senior exclaimed, and Ishimaru had to admit the sight of the ocean sprawling before him was unlike anything else he’d ever seen. The water glittered as it reflected the setting sun, and Ishimaru realised that time had past quite a lot since they had started studying. It was… mesmerising.

Then Hinata held his arm and led him into the sea. His first thought, was that it was cold, and Ishimaru instinctively withdrew his foot as soon as he touched it. Seeing that Hinata seemed to be enjoying the freezing cold waves washing over his feet, Ishimaru gave it a second try. It was still as uncomfortably numbing as the first time, but he figured it might be similar to hot springs, except cold. Judging from his senior’s serene expression, could it be that he was having fun? Was it really fun, just standing around doing nothing? 

Hinata could sense Ishimaru’s restlessness and suggested that they do other activities. When you think of beaches, you think of beach volleyball! Except they had no ball, and the ground was too coarse to really run around barefoot. Hinata invited Ishimaru to swim, except the water was too cold. They tried building a sandcastle, but it ended up being a sadcastle due to the amount of times it crumbled, which was all the time. They tried picking up seashells, but Ishimaru ended up picking up rubbish instead and although he looked like he was having fun, all Hinata found were broken dreams in the form of crushed shells. 

Despite all that, Ishimaru seemed entertained enough, which made Hinata’s spirits lighten up as well. It was getting late into the evening, and Hinata was determined to make at least one thing not a total disappointment. He had noticed the small drink stand earlier and now that he was tired and thirsty, decided it was time for a nice, tropical treat.

“Ishimaru, we should get something to drink!” He called out to his friend, who had cleaned most of the area of its rubbish, much to Hinata’s amazement. 

“You’re right! I was so engrossed that I neglected my basic hydration!” Ishimaru exclaimed and Hinata brought him over to the drink stand. On display were tons of colourful, delicious looking fruits. 

“What juice do you want? I’ll pay.”

“I refuse! It’s only right that I pay for my share!” Ishimaru replied, shocked. However, he took a closer look at the prices and took a step back. “...On second thought, it’s alright. I’ll just have water.”

The drinks were pretty expensive but Hinata decided to not be stingy for once and treat his friend to a nice refreshing coconut juice despite his protests. Ishimaru cautiously peered into the coconut as he took a sip, his eyes widening as he got a taste of the cool, sweet juice. It had a rather unique taste that Ishimaru had not experienced before. Ishimaru tried to pay Hinata for the drink but he simply waved it off as ‘tuition fees’.

“Is it good?” Hinata asked, taking a sip of his own orange juice.

“It’s… interesting! I quite like it! Although it is way too expensive...” Ishimaru replied after giving it some thought. It was definitely welcome in the hot weather. Hinata had a fond smile on his face as he watched his friend enjoy the drink. Sometimes, it was nice to just not do anything.

The two sat at the shack silently, watching and listening to the waves’ rhythmic ebb and flow. The ambience was strangely calming. In the back of his mind, Ishimaru knew that he should be focusing on work, but he could not say that he regretted coming along with his upperclassman. He learnt quite a few new things too! He had to admit it was a nice change of scenery to the familiar school grounds.

After waiting for Ishimaru to finish his coconut juice, they walked back to the station as it was starting to get dark, stopping by a convenience store along the way to get a cheap (but healthy) dinner. While paying for their meals, Hinata asked if Ishimaru had a good time, to which he responded with a nod and a large grin on his face that they had quite the intense study session lined up for tomorrow. 

Crap. Hinata was having such a relaxed time at the ‘beach’ that he had almost forgotten his promise with Ishimaru. While he was mostly dreading going back to the homework grind, listening to his friend excitedly rattle on about his study plans for the next day made him look forward to it, just a little. He may not have the luxury to go overseas, but it would be nice to hang out with Ishimaru in other places in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this very long ago but I keep forgetting to post it... but the world needs more Hinata and Ishimaru friendship so here it is. I hope you like it! 
> 
> The next character will probably be a certain V3 protagonist to follow the trend. When I stop procrastinating to write it, that is...


End file.
